A Cute Distraction
by MoonlitLagoon
Summary: Felix is dedicated to his training and his training alone. But for some reason, Annette's songs and dances have been distracting him. Or is it Annette herself who's the distraction? A cute short story following their supports from FE3H.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This will be a short story following the supports between Felix and Annette. I loved how Felix, the rude and blunt lone-wolf of the Blue Lions, becomes ****completely**** smitten with Annette. He's normally an insufferable and mean guy but with her he's unbelievably sweet.**

* * *

Felix Hugo Fraldarius cared about one thing and one thing only: getting stronger. Yet his progress toward achieving that goal had been stymied as of late.

In a brilliant flash of silver, the heir to the Fraldarius Dukedom swung his blade up above his head. His sword met his sparring partner's blade with a resounding _clang_; the impact of steel against steel reverberated through his body like a cannon ball smashing through a castle's walls.

His opponent, the frivolous Sylvain, whistled a high, appraising note. "Nice one. Although...I think you'd perform much better if you had your own cheerleaders."

"Can't you be quiet?!" Felix huffed. His patience had worn thin, as it was prone to do. It was different this time, however. For many reasons. One of which wouldn't keep his trap shut. As for the other -

"How can I be quiet when I have a crowd of ladies to please?" he quipped back jovially, disrupting his flow of thought.

_Hormone-crazed fool._ Sylvain may as well have enrolled into the Officers Academy to read those stupid books about those suicidal knights that Ingrid and Ashe loved so much. In other words, he wasn't here to actually learn anything.

Slyvain retreated back across the arena on lithe feet, kicking up a spray of sand into the air. Felix crouched down and prepared to pounce.

Overhead, the sun broke through a covering of clouds and shed a beam of light directly onto Sylvain's head of bright red hair. A color that reminded him of a very small and studious girl in his House. Annette's hair was more orange than red, but it snagged his attention every time she happened to be near.

She often sang about food. He hadn't meant to eavesdrop the first time he'd stumbled across her singing to the flowers in the greenhouse. Sometimes she even danced for them. When no one was around, he often caught himself humming one of her songs. How strange. Normally he found Ingrid's incessant ramblings about food tiresome. Yet Annette made the same topic exciting.

Felix blinked, trying to regain his focus. Before he could go on the offensive, the skirt-chaser closed the gap between them for another blow. He parried it in the nick of time. But by then the damage had been done; the force of the attack pushed him into a defensive stance.

A raucous volley of cheering blasted his eardrums. He could feel a headache coming on. Why had this slacker brought a horde of girls here? They were supposed to be training!

Felix angled his blade down, goading Sylvain to take the bait. His friend winked and then he let Felix fling him back. In a flash of silver, the dark-haired young man leveled the tip of his sword against the playboy's throat. The girls let out collective gasps and dismayed groans.

Sylvain dropped his sword onto the ground with a clatter. "I was so close this time, too," he said without an ounce of disappointment. "Sorry ladies. Perhaps if you'll allow me to take you all out for tea, I can make it up to you."

"What was that?" Felix snapped at him. "I can't believe I thought you were serious about this." He sheathed his weapon at his hip and folded his arms across his chest.

"I can't believe _you_ weren't serious," Sylvain responded, catching him off-guard. And then the swarm of girls rushed into the arena like a stampede of bulls. Their feet stirred up clouds of dust and their shrill voices rose several octaves. "I'd be the happiest man in all of Fodlan to share a feast with you princesses, but a man must learn how to defend the roses of this academy."

How did he not feel an ounce of embarrassment at the lines he spewed? Surely girls didn't actually enjoy this crap?

To Felix's disdain, the philanderer produced a rose from somewhere on his person and tucked it behind one of the girl's ears. Were it not for the crush of other girls pressing around her to get to Sylvain, he thought she might just pull a fainting stunt. A stunt he would go along with until he shattered her heart the following day with a different girl.

"I'll see you later tonight, my rose.." He lifted her chin up with a single gloved finger. _There goes another soul. _Felix rolled his eyes heavenward as her cheeks flushed. "I'll see you lovelies tomorrow. Thanks for stopping by!" His crowd of fans shuffled away and out of the training arena, their eyes bright with excitement.

Sylvain proudly twirled around to face Felix, his hands on his hips and his shoulders rolled back. "So -

"I don't want to hear it."

"Look, I wasn't using you to show off. Okay, maybe a little bit," he admitted when Felix fixed him with a pointed glare. "But you can't tell me that a maiden's earnest support for your victory doesn't get you going."

Felix sighed loudly. "You're giving me a headache. Get out of my sight before I turn you into today's target practice."

Sylvain grimaced at that but he hastily tried to steer the conversation back to whatever good deed he'd believed he'd done. "You need my help."

"That's rich, coming from you."

The dumbass nodded in agreement. He said, "What's troubling you? A girl?"

Felix sucked air in through his teeth to maintain his composure. "That's your problem and yours alone." He cursed aloud as a grin spread over Sylvian's dumb face. "What?" he spat angrily.

"I could've won today's match. Out of the goodness of my heart I decided not to break the hearts of so many of your secret admirers."

For once, Felix couldn't argue with that. He _had_ almost lost. And the fact that it was to _Sylvain_ of all people was unbelievable. "Since when do you have a heart?"

"Ouch. That wounds me, you know?" His grin broadened. "So, why the slip up? Someone you fancy in that crowd?"

"No, you idiot. We agreed to work on your technique. Then you go and invite an audience. A very loud, _annoying_ one."

He shrugged. "How could I not invite the fairest ladies in the land?" When Felix didn't respond, Sylvain said, "Just say the word and I can teach you all I know about the art of romance. That's a battlefield you haven't mastered," he added.

"Leave."

Sylvain shook his head in mock disappointment. "Fine, but you're missing out. Oh, crap. I'm not on greenhouse today, am I?"

"You have eyes don't you?," Felix said, pointing at the bulletin near the arena's entrance.

"Ah, right. Good idea." The dolt lumbered over to read through the assigned list of chores as Felix began his set of warm up exercises specifically for a certain training session he'd planned out. He'd completed three consecutive sweeps of his sword when his friend let out a victorious shout. "Bless Seiros, I can see Tessa - no, _Kirsten_ tonight! Still, I feel bad for Annette. You'd think she'd have learned to calm down a bit for these exams. With scores like hers I'd never have to worry. A bit of gardening might help relax her though."

Felix paused. "Annette's on duty?" He'd specifically asked Professor Byleth to let him take on her chores for this month so that she'd have more time to study. Had his teacher forgotten? He didn't like seeing the poor girl freak out.

"That's what it says. What, you think I can't read?" Sylvain sounded mildly offended as Felix came over to double-check the list. The dark-haired man's eyes narrowed at his teacher's looping scrawl of Annette's name. Which was right next to a box called 'Greenhouse' as her duty for today. The box was still devoid of a checkmark.

"See? I can read. Anyway, I'll leave you to your training - hey, wait, where are you going?" Sylvain exclaimed as Felix headed toward the training arena's entrance. "Okay fine. I get it! I won't bring a crowd of ladies next time, alright? Just five or three girls. Is that alright?"

"No. I don't need any more distractions," Felix interrupted him. "Now go do whatever it is you do before I cut you."

* * *

Felix slowed to a stroll as he entered the greenhouse. He raised his voice to announce himself, as he'd been taught was polite to do. Immediately, the cloying air settled over him like a perfume. The Greenhouse Keeper stood off to the side, her brown dress nearly the same shade as the soil. Her face was weathered from age but still her eyes glittered with excitement as she tended to shearing away dead leaves. She offered him a smile as he waltzed inside.

Before, he couldn't stand hotboxes like this place. Now he viewed this part of campus with some fondness. Not to the same degree as the training area, however.

The Officer Academy's greenhouse was more like a miniature garden than an actual greenhouse. A few rows of plants and flowers grew near the back in a single rectangular plot while similar plots bordered the main walkway. Holding up the domed glass ceiling were columns wound with braids of ivy. The air was heavy with humidity and thick with moisture and all throughout the place hung the ripe scent of soil and growing things. While not the most comfortable place to idle in for too long, Felix could see why some folk naturally gravitated toward this part of the Academy.

The cooks claimed to use only what was grown on the Academy's grounds. However, there'd been many a rumor floating around that said otherwise. Whatever the case, Felix didn't care. He just knew that most of the food came from here. And that sometimes, if he were lucky, he could chance upon a certain spritely girl. One whose footwork reminded him of a skilled fencer. Her voice, while untrained and bereft of self-awareness, was so pure and carefree that it bewitched him.

Smoothing back strands of his shining black hair that had fallen loose from his bun, he turned to the Greenhouse Keeper. "I'm here on behalf of Annette Dominic."

The kindly older woman's eyebrows rose in surprise. "Oh, but she's already here."

Felix frowned. "She is?" He certainly couldn't see her. Then again, Annette was a tiny person. He surveyed the entire room, his perplexed frown deepening.

"Yes, I gave her some seeds a few moments ago. Mayhaps she be around that bend somewhere over there?"

With a nod, he followed the woman's outstretched arm and stopped short around the corner. Crouched before the leaves like a little cat was Annette. "Hey," he called out to her. But it was futile. She was humming to herself, her voice getting louder and louder as she went about her task of clearing away the soil and emptying a handful of seeds into the unearthed pocket. She sprinkled water over them, then smoothed the dirt back over it.

"Annette, it's me," Felix tried again.

"_Today's dinner is steak and then a cake that's yummy yum...Now it's time to fill my tummy tum...Oh this mountain of sweets, and treats that I long to eats...Oh stacks of steaks and cakes and crumbs and yums…"_

He fell quiet. She seemed so...happy. Well, she always was, but something about the way she was right now was almost soothing. He didn't want to disrupt that peace, even though he knew she'd rather be studying. Actually maybe he should. Before she got so caught up in her song that she danced and sang herself away into the night. Wouldn't that be something?

Felix took a step toward her right as she jumped to her feet. She may have been about to go tend to another patch of soil, he wasn't sure, but his mere presence promptly put a stop to her next course of action.

Annette whirled around in shock, her large blue eyes rounding in horror.

"I hope I'm not interrupting," he said.

"Felix!" She gasped, her cheeks reddening. "You weren't listening, were you?" She wrung her hands together and her gaze darted about as if she'd done something wrong.

"I heard enough to know that you're hungry," he answered plainly.

This only served to fluster her even more. "No! I mean...Well, yes." He'd figured as much. Mercedes had gone alone to eat breakfast this morning. Annette threw an embarrassed glance his way. "At least tell me you didn't see the dance?"

"You have nice footwork," he praised her. He was about to ask her how she'd learned it when he noticed she was fidgeting. Right, she was probably really stressed out for the upcoming exams. "Get something to eat. I can take over watering the plants," he said gently.

For one long moment, Annette stared at Felix. And Felix stared back at Annette. His normally harsh countenance was completely unguarded and soft, whereas her normally cheery disposition was now a stricken, terrified one.

Oh no, had he reminded her of the exams she was so scared of taking?

Annette's entire face flushed so vividly it rivaled even the blooming flower behind her. And then she yelled at him. "You're evil, Felix!

"And you're shouting," he said, completely taken aback.

"You can't just spy on people while they're singing without even saying anything!" She continued, her voice high. "It's not right!"

Felix arched an eyebrow. "I actually did call out that I was coming in. It's not my fault you didn't hear."

"Well…" Annette blinked several times, as if she was trying hard to think of what to say to that. "You need to speak louder, then! Ugh, this is so embarrassing!" The poor girl seemed to shrink in on herself much like when their professor announced a new test. Felix couldn't help but feel a strange twinge of regret at his words. "And _of course_ I was singing some silly food song I made up. I should've been singing about...bears! Or swamp beasties!"

Now that had his attention. "I didn't realize there were songs about bears and swamp beasties," he told her. Huh, you learned something new every day. "That food song seemed to be close to your heart. Your stomach isn't far from your heart, after all." He'd meant that as a compliment. People should do what they love, that's what he thought.

For some reason it only angered her.

"Oh, you're the worst!" Annette snapped at him. With her face aflame and her mouth set into a pout, the orange-haired warlock raced out of the greenhouse as if for dear life. It's not like he was going to engage her in a duel.

"Huh. What was that about?" Felix scratched his head. That damned headache had finally taken root and was now spreading a dull ache about his temples. His gaze fell upon the scattered seeds where Annette had been crouched earlier. Beside it was a watering pitcher. "I better water these plants. Wouldn't want them to get thirsty, or they might start singing too."

So he set to work, all the while wondering if Annette had been able to eat all of the yummy sweets she longed to eat. He'd have to talk to Byleth about the chores distribution again, at least until the exams were done. But even after he was finished with her chores, he found himself caught up in her silly little song. He couldn't get the lyrics out of his head.


	2. Chapter 2

Ever since that day in the greenhouse, Felix had been powerless to Annette's food song. It haunted him in the blanket of the night. Visions of cakes and steaks regaled him so often that he now made more trips down to the cafeteria just to get a clearer picture of them. And he didn't even like sweets! He must've screwed up the lyrics somewhere. That's what this was. Until he'd solved the issue he'd continue to be plagued by the very notion of steaks and cakes.

"Professor," he began one morning after class had ended. Byleth looked up from her paperwork at her place at the podium.

"How may I help you, Felix?"

Business with his professor usually involved him challenging her to another duel. She was incredibly strong, having come from a family of mercenaries, and he hoped to one day best her. There was only so much a knight could teach you before their own martyring principles came into play. That or they had absolutely no useful advice for what you should do in the case that you were wrested of your sword. A knight without his sword was a dead knight. But a mercenary without a sword was just as lethal with their hands and their feet.

Today was not a day of personal training though.

"Last week I requested to undertake all of Annette's chores for this month. Her name is still on the list."

Byleth rounded the podium to check the billboard which hung outside in the hall. In the courtyard, his classmates were lounging about in the sun, chatting or meeting up with students from the other houses. Sylvain was currently making his way over to a crowd of girls, purposefully lengthening his strides as if that might make him look cooler than he was.

Felix muttered a curse under his breath. His professor looked at him with a hint of mischief tugging at her lips. "Sylvain has much to learn," she said. "And you're correct. I must've accidentally switched up the schedules. Thanks for letting me know, Felix. I'll have the new one up before lunch. Hmm, actually maybe during lunch."

"So long as she's no longer busting her ass then that's fine. Thanks, professor."

As he started toward the training grounds, he heard a laugh. It was high and clear and it fluttered like a bird's feathers on a skirl of wind. He would've recognized it anywhere.

Mercedes and Annette sat on the grass to his left, partially obscured from his view by a part of the classroom's pillar. They hid in the shadow cast by the building, but it wasn't working out so well for them. The sun really wanted to bake everyone alive today. Felix wiped the back of his sleeve over his forehead and grimaced at the sweat soaking it.

He watched with fascination as she ripped a handful of grass from the ground and blew it into the air.

"Felix," Byleth said, nudging him gently on his shoulder. "Felix? I was worried I'd lost you just now. You very rarely ever get distracted," she said with a knowing smile. He simply stared back at his professor, oblivious to it all. "Anyway, I have to see Hanneman soon. Let Annette know the schedule changed just in case I can't fix all of the billboard's in time."

"Understood."

With a small nod, his professor left to go see Hanneman, her coat sleeves billowing in the wind.

There was plenty of time to train and then fill up on lunch, but he'd need to pass on this information quickly or he'd lose precious time. He approached the girls; his shadow fell over them and as one, the best friends turned their faces up to him.

Mercedes smiled and said, "Oh, Felix. How are you?"

"Fine," he said curtly. Mercedes cupped her chin in her hand and looked up at him curiously with her cornflower blue gaze.

Annette went bug-eyed the second he glanced at her. "Hey," he addressed her. "You're done with your chores for the month."

"What?" she gaped at him. "How come? Did you make a mess of the greenhouse?" she accused him.

"I did no such thing," he retorted. He rarely did favors for anyone but when he did they always assumed the worst of his intentions. How come? "That's all. Good luck with your studies."

Mercedes made a strange, considering noise in the back of her throat. Like she was mulling over something. "That's very kind of you, Felix. I'm certain she'll score the highest again."

Why did she seem so surprised by what he'd said? Slightly annoyed by the mixed signals he was getting from the girls and unsure of what to do or say next, he spun around on his heel and left the friends to themselves.

Halfway to the training arena, something snagged his sleeve. He reached out to brush off whatever it was and his hand met with something soft and warm. Definitely not a branch. He looked over his shoulder and found himself gazing down into Annette's large, blue eyes.

"Do you need something?" he asked her.

She puffed out her cheeks like a squirrel and then pulled him with her behind a tree. Looking around the area as if she were about to engage in an illicit trading deal, she faced him. And proceeded to tap her foot against the ground in a staccato beat. He waited for her to say something, but he all he could think about was how that rhythm sounded so similar to her food song. Already, he was seeing cakes stacked atop platters of steaks. He had to know if he'd memorized the wrong lyrics.

Right as he opened his mouth to ask her, she blurted, "So what's the deal? Did the professor say anything? I saw you two talking earlier. Oh no, what if I really messed up? I'm a huge klutz and I can't ever cook anything without something exploding but I've never done anything to the plants!"

"Calm down," he said but it only riled her up more. "Look, I just asked to take over your chores for you."

It was like he'd told her that the secret to flying was by simply counting to ten. "You what?"

"You've been really stressed out lately and I have time to kill."

Annette's gaze searched his as if she didn't believe him one bit. A little furrow knotted her brows together.

"Well, that's...unexpected." The furrow deepened further. "I mean, that's unexpectedly kind of you. But why?" He had the strange urge to smooth it out with a finger.

"I don't know," he said honestly. "Seeing you get so bent out of shape over a stupid test is...annoying." The last time they'd had an exam, Annette hadn't slept for two whole days. All in order to get a perfect score. It perplexed him, how a number could mean so much to someone. Not to mention how taxing those all-nighters had been on both her mind and her body. She'd get sick from doing that. What if she wasn't in top-form during the next battle?

The idea of her dying bothered him.

Annette leaned against the wall and crossed her arms. "Do you have any idea how hard I had to study just to get into this place? Studying is all I'm good at. It's all I can do to prove myself and if I don't pass, I'm not sure what I'll do."

"There it goes again," he said, watching her brows knit lines together. She let out an indignant snort of air through her nostrils and tugged absent-mindedly on one of her bright orange braids. He could've sworn he'd seen a flower in the greenhouse that was the exact same shade. What was it called again?

"Why am I bothering to explain myself? You only want to bully me. Look," she began, "thanks for the help. But I got this, alright?"

He nodded. "You do."

Clearly he'd said something surprising. Annette deflated in one exhale, leaving behind a dispirited girl. Alarmed, he reached out as if to steady her. But somewhere along the way to clapping a reassuring hand on her shoulder, he wound up pressing his index finger right into the little groove between her brows. The slightest pressure was all it took to ease the tension between them.

"Much better," he told her. "You heard Mercedes, didn't you? You'll get the highest score. You always do. Besides, if Sylvain got into this academy than anything is possible. Also, I've been meaning to ask: what are the lyrics to that food song?"

Her orange eyebrows pushed into a fearsome scowl against the pad of his finger. To his amazement, a rush of heat blazed across her skin; he pulled away from her, wondering if she was conjuring a blaze of fire magic to burn him with.

"I can't believe I thought you were being sincere just now!" she exclaimed. She opened her mouth to say something only to shut it with a resounding clack of her teeth when a group of three passed by their tree. Had she chipped a tooth? Once they had passed, she rounded on him and unleashed her fury. "Felix, you're such a bully! Is this fun for you?"

"What on earth are you talking about?" he replied, stunned. "Look, you have the week off so don't wear yourself out."

She let out a gasp when he turned around. "You're gonna regret this! I'll make sure of it!"

He glanced back at her with an incredulous look. "Alright. Bye."

And off he went. But it wasn't until he'd begun his training that he realized he'd made a grave error. His results against the training instructor were concerning: his swings carried less strength, his lunges were slower than normal, and his defense was poor at best.

Annette's song wasn't just the issue. Her _voice_ was constantly playing for him. And when he thought of her voice, he naturally began to think of her. Would she use this time to study herself to the bone? Or would she take care of herself more?

The exam was in a few days. He hoped that when that day arrived, she was in good health to take it.

* * *

Over the next few days, Felix lived on a fixed schedule. He ate, trained, and attended classes. Then he trained again before lunch. His day would end with him having finished Annette's chores and then he'd retire for the night.

At least he _tried_ to.

"Not again," he muttered, tossing about in his bed. "Was it 'all the treats I long to eats' or 'all the sweets I long for a feast?'"

Tomorrow was the exam and he'd all but slacked on his studies. He would do just fine, there was no need to worry about that. So why couldn't he fall asleep?

Felix rolled out of bed. He pulled on his boots, strapped on his sword and then he was walking down the corridor of the dormitory. Maybe a few laps around the place would tire him out.

It was dark in the halls save for the few candles lit at regular intervals along the walls. He followed its winding bends and curves until he'd arrived at the library. The doors were closed but candlelight spilled out from underneath.

Who else was awake at this hour?

Felix pushed the doors open and was greeted with the most peculiar sight. One of the many tables was covered in stacks of books and mountains of papers and a scattering of quills. Crumpled wads of paper littered the polished wooden floor. Candles in their holders stood front and center on the table, shedding their light against the floor like molten gold and dousing the library in warmth.

In the middle of the room, Ashe paced about in a straight line like a harried hen.

His silver-gray hair was amber in the fire's light and his pale complexion took on a sickly hue. "You're so stupid," he was muttering to himself. "You should've done it for her. Oh you're such a chicken - Felix?!" Ashe let out a startled cry at the sight of him and stopped in his tracks. His eyes shone with a film of tears.

"Yes, that's me," Felix said. He noted two distinct piles of paperwork. Ashe's slanted handwriting covered one half while the other was written in a completely different hand. Someone else must be here. "There's no way you're gonna cram anything into that skull of yours before tomorrow."

Ashe's face crumpled. "If only that was the most pressing matter right now."

"Seiros above," Felix huffed irritably. "Why's everyone letting some arbitrary score drive them mad? You and Annette both need to just calm the shit down." He flipped through some of the paperwork and squinted down at the unmistakably flowery scrawl. "Of course Annette can't just take it easy can she?" he murmured. Even with a whole month off from her chores she was still slowly killing herself through sleep deprivation. Not to mention all of the times she'd skipped meals just to devour the information in her textbooks.

Still, textbook information wasn't exactly nutritious. So he'd gone the extra length to give platters of food to Mercedes to deliver to Annette. The first time he'd tried to personally give her some food she'd refused to talk to him. It was like she was mad at him. He wasn't sure why. As far as he could tell he'd been especially kind to her as of late.

He frowned. Why was he giving her special treatment?

"I'm so sorry," Ashe said, his voice cracking.

Felix pinched the bridge of his nose between his fingers. "Whatever. I bet she dragged you into a late night cramming session." Ashe flinched, looking extremely guilty. "Now where is she?" He asked him, glancing around the library as if the little warlock was hiding somewhere in the shadows.

Ashe seemed to shrink in on himself, his gaze darting about. "About that...Felix. Do you believe in ghosts?"

"Do I what now?" he deadpanned. "This is exactly why people need to be in bed at this hour." To be fair, he should be in bed too but he wasn't about to say anything. Especially when that reason had everything to do with Annette's food song.

How would that even go down? He imagined telling the kid that her songs were conjuring visions of sweets every night. Nah, that would be weird.

"No, I'm serious!" the young archer took a step toward him and held out his hands in a pleading gesture. "I know it sounds far-fetched but...they're real. I mean, I think they are. There's no way there'd be so many stories about them if they weren't!" He sounded as if he were trying to convince himself, but Felix guessed that the fear of these phantoms only propelled him to believe in them. "If only I weren't so afraid of them I wouldn't have let her go alone."

Felix cocked his head to the side and his gaze narrowed to slits. "What?" He hadn't meant to sound as harsh as he did but his tone was sharp enough to cause Ashe to look down at the floor in shame."You'd better tell me what's going on or we'll be here all night."

With a shaky breath, Ashe drew himself up to face him head on. "Annette said she left something at the greenhouse. Some doll her father gave her, I think. We were going over stratagems earlier - and I just can't ever seem to wrap my head around it all. She's absolutely brilliant though. Thanks to her I was actually starting to understand some of it. But then she started freaking out saying she must've dropped her doll in the greenhouse a few days ago."

"Is she still there?" Felix cut him off.

Ashe hesitated. "I'm not sure. I offered to go with her but she said it was alright since it wasn't dark out. But now it is and she hasn't come back," he choked on air. "Felix! What if the ghosts got her? I should be out there looking for her but I'm too afraid -

"How long ago?"

"What?" he sputtered.

"How long ago did she leave?"

Ashe's lips drew into a thin line. Finally, he said, "It's been at least half an hour."

A cold feeling gripped at Felix's chest. Half an hour? What on earth was she doing? She was scatter-brained as hell so it wasn't unlikely that she was still looking for the doll she'd lost. Unless..."Stay here," he told Ashe, an edge straining his vocal cords. "Actually, no. Get to bed. I'll find her."

"But shouldn't I come too?" he stammered, racing after Felix as he exited the library. "I should've gone with her. The least I can do is try and help you find her."

"I thought you said there were ghosts out there?" he asked him.

Ashe tripped over his own feet and barely recovered before he face-planted on the ground. "But she's scared of them too and she's out there all alone."

Felix stopped abruptly and spun around to look at Ashe. "You'll only get in my way." The poor kid looked absolutely heartbroken, but it had to be said. "You can't even walk in a straight line. I'll find her so just get to sleep, you dumb idiot."

Ashe stared at him, as if he was searching for something he could use to convince him to take him along. But then he clutched at his chest. "I understand. I'm sorry for being so irresponsible."

Felix tsked. "Then let this be a lesson. If you're afraid of something, than face it. Not tonight, though. Annette can handle herself. You've seen her zap away enemies into dust. I'm sure even a ghost wouldn't try anything."

"Um, if you say so. I mean she _is_ strong but who knows what a ghost can do?"

Felix only rolled his eyes. Ghosts didn't exist. "Then I'll deal with them."

* * *

**AN: I used a tiny bit of Ashe's support with Annette in this chapter. I adored how Ashe faced his fear of ghosts to get back something she'd lost and wanted to see how Felix would handle it had he been in a similar position. As always, reviews are sincerely appreciated 3**


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: School and work got really busy but I wanted to get a chapter out. Enjoy! My beta reader has returned to help me finish up the rest of DBH, so look forward to that!**

The Officers Academy was renowned for producing some of the most capable defenders of the Church of Seiros. In tandem with its illustrious pedigree, its defenses were purportedly second to none. Yet, the academy's overconfidence in its reputation had left it blind to traitors from within, and Flayn had vanished without a trace.

The Church said that they'd find her - and find her they did. Gripped in the Death Knight's clutches. It was only after they'd rescued her that they realized Flayn wasn't the first to have been whisked away by the creature. Furthermore, this very beast had been their former fencing instructor, Jeritza. Felix had found his betrayal shameful - at first. He was a formidable fighter, after all. But the Death Knight was a monster, and men who let themselves become monsters weren't worthy of praise.

While he doubted the Death Knight would return any time soon - especially by breaking into the academy - he couldn't rule out the possibility that these 'ghosts' that Ashe and Annette were so scared of could be him.

So Felix headed to the greenhouse in the quiet of the night with his sword sheathed at his side and his senses peeled for danger. None of the guards noticed him racing down the streets of the campus. He may as well have been a shadow for all they cared.

Above him the stars glimmered like jewels inlaid in a cobalt headdress and the moon engraved a silver path for him. Felix's breath puffed white clouds before him. It was almost as if he were on the battlefield, watching newly-gutted souls drift up into the heavens. Except he wasn't crazy enough to believe in that nonsense. How the boar- Dimitri - had strung a metaphorical loop of gravestones about his own neck was ridiculous.

Hulking like a slumbering beast near the edge of the fishing pond was the greenhouse. Its scales had dulled in the curtain of midnight, no longer overflowing with the sun's energy. He'd never admit this to Ashe, but he could almost see how something like this might overstimulate one's imagination. _Almost_.

Steeling himself for the unknown, Felix crept closer until he was pressed against its side. He couldn't hear a thing through the doors.

A single guard was patrolling this side of the campus. Their armor glinted like a polished blade in the moon's light. They were too far away to have spotted Felix; their pace was an indolent crawl as they passed by Bernadette's room. He had no doubt that the shut-in was stuffing her face with food she had swiped from the cafeteria at this very moment.

Felix gathered his faculties. Then he pushed open the door and slipped inside the belly of the beast. He kept one hand on the hilt of his sword as he surveyed the gloom.

He didn't know much about how greenhouses functioned, only that they lapped up the sun's rays in the day and somehow dispersed it throughout the night to keep the plants warm. It was a peculiar process. Perhaps the Church had employed mages to keep the greenhouses functioning?

Whatever the case, the one thing he was certain of was that it was dark in here. Felix melted into the shadows and strained to listen for anything that might be lurking inside. The smell of manure and fertilizer nearly suffocated him and the air practically dripped with moisture.

He slowly pushed the door back behind him, but he didn't shut it. A thin line of moonlight seeped in through the crack, illuminating the pitch black like a torch lighting the night.

Felix followed the length of the walls. It was incredibly dark in here, even with the little bit of light coming through the door. This place could be the perfect refuge, if one needed it. Though what one would need in the shadows of a greenhouse, he didn't know.

As he was carefully picking his way around the room, a small shuffle caught his attention. He froze, his hand tightening on the pommel of his weapon. The sudden noise became a slight scratching sound - like someone's shoes against the stone floor.

Felix concentrated on the noise, tracking its whereabouts. _There._ With the agility of a predator, the young man skirted around a plot of soil and across to the other side of the room. He heard it again, this time more to his right. Whatever it was, the noise it made was far too small to be the Death Knight.

And it was now lurking inside of the plot nearest to the back of the greenhouse.

Before he leapt blindly after the culprit like an untrained idiot, Felix pinpointed the source's location. Tested his idea of his spatial surroundings. He formed a mental layout of where he could move to dodge any unexpected assault if need be. Then he struck.

He landed amongst the budding flowers and rubbery leaves with a muffled thump. A gasp shattered the quiet, and Felix whirled around. Only to drop to the ground as a heated orange light winked into existence before his face.

Annette's blue eyes shone above the glow of the fire cupped between her hands. She didn't fling it at him. Thank Seiros for that.

"Felix!" she hissed. "What are you doing here?"

He released a sigh and let go of his sword's hilt. "Looking for you. And hoping not to get burned alive," he answered her as he picked himself up.

The startled warlock closed her hands around the fireball, shrinking it until it was as tiny as a firefly. Its bright orange flames flickered between her fingers and cast a harsh patchwork of light and shadow over her face. "I can see that. I could've accidentally hit you, you know. Why are you here?"

"I could ask you the same thing," he said, knowing full-well why the superstitious warlock was awake in the middle of the night. A strange mixture of relief and annoyance washed over him. His lips quirked up at the corners and he said, "Last I recall, plants needed only sunlight and water to thrive. Does your voice carry a spell to aid in their growth?"

Though her flames and the darkness hid any confirmation from him, he was certain that a blush was coloring her complexion. Felix didn't know why it pleased him. He frowned slightly at that.

The fireball grew between her cupped hands as her voice sharpened. "It doesn't matter why I'm here - you'd only think the reason was stupid. And no, for your information. Can't you let it go?"

"Let what go?"

She practically bristled at that. "Felix," she ground out through her teeth. "You really do enjoy bullying me, don't you? What's it gonna take for you to -

Annette broke off and the fire between her hands sputtered out. "Did you hear that?" she whispered. Felix patiently waited for his eyes to adjust to the dark.

"There's nothing here."

Something warm drew near him, and he started. The small warlock had sidled up close to him; the ends of her long braids caressed the back of his hand. Annette was short - but he'd never understood just how tiny she was. Something about that fact ignited an odd sensation within him. It was similar to how he felt when he spotted a stray cat: a contented bubbly feeling that began in his chest and spread throughout him like a good soak in hot water.

But Annette wasn't a cat and now he wasn't sure what to think anymore.

And then it clicked. "There's no such things as ghosts," he murmured quietly. Yes, he wanted to pick her up and hide her where nothing could harm her. However, Annette was a fearsome warlock. He'd seen her demolish enemies on the field as if they were the were homework assignments that Sylvain crumpled in his fists.

"Are you kidding me?" Annette retorted in a frantic hiss. "They're everywhere. Oh, I knew I shouldn't have gone alone. But Ashe is scared of them too. I should've waited for the morning."

His reply was curt. "Then ask me to come next time." Next time? _What next time?_ What did he mean by that?

Annette fell silent for a moment. "Um. No offense, Felix," she hedged. "If I have to face ghosts with anyone, they've gotta be someone who understands the risks. Ashe gets it."

"Risks," he grumbled. Ashe was a far gentler person than himself, sure. But he couldn't stop freaking out about dumb phantoms to get himself together. "Ghosts aren't real - and even if they were I'd cut them down."

She shifted, turning to the side. "Do you wanna bet?" Despite the fear lacing her words, there was a mischievous lilt to them. Like she was absolutely thrilled to show him up. Felix peered down at her, his eyesight finally having grown acclimated to the gloom. It helped tremendously that he'd left the greenhouses' door open ajar. The deep shadows had muted her orange hair to a thrush-brown and her slight frame trembled with nerves. Her shaking vibrated through him. "Because one's coming this way."

"Nonsense," he snorted. Even so, he stilled at a slight scratching sound. Coming from outside. He struggled to make out what was going on, but he didn't get a chance to wonder for too long.

Annette blindly reached out and felt for his arm. Her soft hand burned like a forged blade against his own, and she dragged him down and into the thick covering of leafy plants behind them. Their rubbery fronds were slick with moisture from the humidity. She yanked him down hard, so that they were like baby birds snug together in a nest.

"What are you gonna bet?" she whispered to him. "Because if I win then I want you to forget - oh my god it's here," she choked. Her grip around his hand convulsed. "Okay, I'll blast it with a fireball and then you go and slice it. Do you think that'll work?"

"I don't think ghosts can be killed," he pointed out matter-of-factly. He raised his head so he could peek out over the plants. Not that it mattered much, considering how dark it was.

"Then we gotta run for it," she said. "Cover me."

He didn't get a chance to stop her. Annette shot out of their cover and moved to press herself against the trunk of a small tree. Carefully, she peeked around its trunk, checking for an opening.

"Annette," he started, only to be blinded by the brilliance of the moonlight as the greenhouse's doors were flung open.

Annette squeaked and summoned a fireball to burn the ghosts with.

The doors slammed shut and he heard a voice. Immediately, Felix rushed to Annette, grabbed her hands and pressed them together, effectively killing her flames. "What are you doing?" she cried. "They're here!"

"Did you hear something?" another girl exclaimed shakily, somewhere near the entrance.

Annette stiffened.

"See?" Felix said, albeit quite smugly. "No ghosts."

He could've sworn her shoulders drooped. In relief or disappointment, he didn't know. Not like their bet was going to be fruitful for her anyway, he thought. "What's she doing here?"

Felix was about to say he hadn't a clue, when someone else spoke. It took all he had within him not to groan with annoyance.

"Shh, it's only the wind my love." Gods damned Sylvain. Felix gritted his teeth.

The girl said, "Are you sure?"

Sylvain chuckled. "Who would check a greenhouse? Our rooms are more suspect. But here? No disturbances...just you and me. Enjoying our love."

Felix's lips thinned with displeasure. "Seiros have mercy on us," he muttered.

In a voice a tad louder than his had been, Annette said, "Sylvain? What's _he_ doing out so late?"

Sylvain and his late-night date went dead quiet. Then the girl started again. "Did you hear something?!"

For some inexplicable reason, Felix panicked. He let go of Annette's hands and stepped forward so that he was pressed flush against her. He braced his forearms against the tree on either side of her head, caging her in place. Holding them both still as death. Felix didn't want to get caught. He'd have to explain to his childhood friend why he was here. Alone. With Annette. In the middle of the night.

Sylvain would never believe him. Moreover, if Felix was being honest with himself, he wanted to help Annette find her lost doll. Even if it took them the rest of the night. Even if she tried to convince him that ghosts existed. If he could spend even a tiny amount more time with her, he'd forego any sleep tonight.

It was as if eons had passed in the amount of time it took for the silence to be broken by Sylvain's rumbling, throaty laugh. "Must've been your imagination, dear."

"I heard something, I swear I did!"

There was the sound of movement, and then the girl let out a delighted gasp. "Really? What did you hear?" To Felix's horror, the girl let out a breathy moan. Sylvain murmured something unintelligible and then there was the uncomfortable sound of heavy breathing and lips smacking together.

They were stuck in a room with two horny people getting it on with each other. And the only way out was through the front doors, right where the couple was vigorously grabbing each other, if the sounds were any indication.

Annette went stock-still. "They...aren't ghosts then."

This was ten times worse than encountering any ghosts.

He didn't want to get caught. But he didn't want to be witness to this scene either.

"Why couldn't they get a room?" he sighed in defeat.

Annette squirmed and dropped her hands to her sides. Felix met her gaze, inwardly cursing Sylvain for existing. "This is unfortunate," she told him. "Um, what should we do?"

He snorted derisively and shook his head, trying to block out the sounds they were making, but failing. "Very unfortunate. Maybe I should chop something off for him."

At that, Annette pressed her hands over her mouth to stifle the sound of her laughter. There'd been no need though, for Sylvain and the girl were making far too much noise to worry. The warlock's shoulders shook with each laugh. "That's not a bad idea," she agreed.

Felix smiled.

Annette smiled back up at him.

And then the greenhouse's doors opened with a deafening boom, and the outline of Professor Byleth in all her glory stood outlined against the night.

Sylvain and the girl, who were currently tangled up in each other against the wall, completely froze as the moonlight exposed them. The girl shrunk in on herself and tried to hide against the Blue Lion's play-boy. Byleth simply folded her arms at the spectacle.

"Hey, teach," Sylvain nervously said, letting go of the girl to grin at his professor like a fool. He reached up to button his shirt and the girl tugged down the hemline of her skirt.

"Outside. Now," Byleth said.

The pair spared each other a single glance before slowly following Byleth outside. Sylvain was already prattling on about some excuse for why they were there, none of which was going to fare well for them. Byleth only crooked her finger and a guard heeded her summons.

"That's what you get," Felix snickered.

The guard led Sylvain and the girl away, but Byleth lingered in the greenhouse. When she turned around to survey the room, Felix ducked back in line with the tree, gently pressing against Annette. He rested his cheek against the rough bark. Leave, professor, he silently pleaded.

He couldn't see what was going on, but he didn't hear his professor move into the room. Nor did he hear her leave.

Annette tensed beneath him.

All at once, Felix became all too aware of her. Perhaps it was because they were in close quarters. Or maybe it was because he had her up against a tree and flush against his body, similar to how Sylvain had had his newest liaison against the wall. Sure, they weren't engaged in anything illicit, but even so…the similarities were enough.

Damn, it was too stuffy in here.

His chin grazed the top of her head and from her crown wafted a pleasant, sweet scent, like cookie dough and a hint of perfume. Or was it soap? What he'd mistaken for her rapid heartbeat was actually his, and it drummed an erratic pulse. He could feel the softness of her chest pushing against his with each swell of breath, and his face flushed at the very notion.

Then he heard the clack of booted footsteps retreating outside. The creak of the doors closing behind his professor. Darkness settled over the room again.

Felix sagged in relief, bringing his forehead against the bark and his cheek against Annette's temple.

"That was a close one," she exclaimed, her voice thrumming against him. She was too warm - hot even - against him. "So, you got lucky this time. Not a ghost after all."

He laughed, "What? Disappointed?"

"No!" She protested and he drew back to look down at her. He blinked several times to better see her in the dark. "That was awkward, though. I knew Sylvain was like that but I never thought I'd have to see or hear it."

Her breath clouded hot on his mouth. Felix felt very strange: light-headed, spiked with adrenaline and on edge all at once.

He cast his gaze anywhere but at her. His fingers curled into fists near her head. The irrational urge to simultaneously meet her gaze head-on and to run away from her hit him like a wyvern rider colliding with a paladin.

But it was too dark to clearly see her and so, he reasoned, she couldn't possibly see him that well either.

"Felix?" she said, jolting him back into awareness.

"Yeah," his voice was hoarse. "Very awkward. I'll kill him tomorrow."

Maybe it was because he was always saying things like that, but she giggled. He looked down at her, his mind growing heady with her scent. "If the exam doesn't," she said. Her breath skated along his mouth again.

A tingle spread over his lips.

What was going on with him? It was like a fog had misted over his mind, narrowing his focus solely onto just this girl beneath him. He wanted to hear her sing again. Felix opened his mouth to say something, only for a wave of hesitation to rush over him.

"Well, thanks for coming down here," she told him. "Much as you're a bully, I can't exactly snub my nose at someone who's not afraid of ghosts. I'm so glad they didn't swoop in with their ghostly arms, booing and screaming and all that."

He couldn't stop the lopsided grin that stole over him. "Oh? I had no idea that's what ghosts did. Looks like there's nothing to fear, then."

She shook her head adamantly, her braids smack against him like ropes. "Ghosts are every bit as terrifying as swamp beasties."

"Noted," he said. What were swamp beasties?

Annette straightened against him, sending bits of bark loose and falling to the ground. "Anyway, I guess I should've waited to try in the morning. Thanks for the company, Felix. I -

A yawn claimed her words, shaping her voice into something altogether adorable.

Adorable? Felix jerked away from her, his face burning. "It's not like I came here for you," he snapped, spinning around on his heel.

"You said you came here specifically for me, actually." She teased him. "Although…"

He dared a peek over his shoulder at her. Annette seemed to be gathering herself for something. "I wouldn't be averse to you and I going back to our rooms together. You know, in case any ghosties are lying in wait." She shuddered at the thought.

"Your flames seem more than capable," he honestly replied. "But, if you insist."

Annette worried her braid between her hands. "We just can't let Professor Byleth catch us."

Another peculiar wave of heat warmed the back of his neck and blazed across his face. "Why? It's not as if we were doing anything wrong."

She sighed dramatically. "After Sylvain, I'd think our professor might be suspicious of a girl and a boy out together alone. At night."

The implication of it all was like a slap across his cheek. Felix crossed his arms, then uncrossed them. He shifted his weight onto one side of his body, then the other. "Whatever," he stammered. "It's not like we planned to meet up."

Technically, he _had_ sought her out - to protect her, of course. Never-mind that she could do that on her own.

"Yeah," Annette agreed, a slight catch in her voice. "You're right, Felix. Professor Byleth knows her students better than anyone! There's no need to be worried."

He nodded, all the while remembering his professor's strange actions from the other day. The way she'd asked him to personally tell Annette how her duties had been passed to him, that little knowing smirk twisting her mouth. Why was it bugging him? It's not like there'd been a reason for that.

"Let's be on our way," he said, rushing past her and making a beeline straight for exit. It was way too hot in here. Way too dark.

"Wait up!" Annette called after him, racing on short legs to catch up to him.

The cold night air was refreshing as he stepped outside. He inhaled through his nose, tilting his head back to cool off. Much better.

Before he closed the doors, Felix glanced into the greenhouse. "Make sure you get some shut eye this time," he sternly told her. Annette guffawed but didn't argue.

He shut the doors closed and turned around to find her glaring up at him with a rosy hue to her complexion. Her eyes shone and her orange hair gleamed like muted gold in the moonlight. He rolled his bottom lip between his teeth. She'd been looking for some doll her father had given her. Wasn't that what Ashe had said?

The dark circles beneath her eyes were like purple bruises. How much had she slept during the month?

With a defeated sigh, Felix said, "Come on. Before the ghosties get you."

Annette stuck close to his side, only inches separating them. He'd look for her doll tomorrow. Maybe it'd set her at ease.

* * *

Reviews are always appreciated! Thank you 3


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Sorry for the late upload! Life got really hectic but it's finally settled down a little. Hope you enjoy this next chapter!**

Several inconveniences mowed over Felix, leaving him gobsmacked.

For starters, the exam had been a nightmare. Not because he didn't know how to answer the questions. He may as well have taken three separate exams, if only for the unmitigated stress he'd endured.

Annette and Ashe had sat on either side of him that day, as he'd instructed them to. Ashe had nodded off a few times (saved by swift kicks to the shin - you're welcome) and Annette had nearly conked out.

His solution was to scooch his chair closer to hers. When Annette sagged like a pegasus rider fighting against lofty gales, his shoulder was there to catch her. She'd startle, realizing she'd very nearly fallen asleep on him, and quickly return to her test, a blush electrifying the freckles on her cheeks. It was an effort of will not to gaze at her when she was so close to him.

Normally such behavior might arouse suspicion from a teacher. However, Professor Byleth immediately comprehended what the issue was. She offered Felix a slight nod and resumed her silent vigil over the class.

After the exam, he'd combed every inch of the greenhouse for Annette's doll. He feared he'd never find it, for he'd searched everywhere. Until he'd looked up. Dangling between the fingers of a tree near the back of the greenhouse was a raggedy-looking doll. He had no clue how it'd gotten itself wedged up there. It was far too high for Annette to reach. It was even too high for him - he'd had to climb the damn thing to retrieve it.

Ghosties don't exist, he'd told himself. He didn't believe in that nonsense, but even so...

He'd brushed off the dirt and bits of leaves covering its dress. He wrinkled his nose. Unfortunately, moisture had seeped into its cloth material and red yarn hair, leaving it a smelly, soggy mess. Over the next few days, he'd attempted - several times - to air-dry it. But winter was fast approaching, hints of frost kissing the air. So he'd resorted to wrapping it in parchments and furs, replacing them when needed. Wouldn't want it to grow mold, he reasoned.

I'll return it to her today, he told himself. Except, he felt weird about anyone seeing their exchange. Seiros only knew why.

In the Blue Lion's classroom, he waited with his classmates to be called on by their professor to review their exam scores. The doll was wrapped snug in violet velvet on the desk before him. Sylvain eyed it with curiosity and Felix slid him a dark glance. His friend decided not to ask about it.

"Annette Fantine Dominic," Professor Byleth called out from her place at the podium. Felix's attention snapped to the front of the room.

"Y-yes!" The warlock answered. She practically jumped out of her seat; her hands trembled as she accepted her graded paper. Professor Byleth's mouth curled upward in the hint of a smile. A very proud one.

Felix could've sworn a Bishop had restored him to his full strength in that moment. Annette had annihilated that exam. Deadly intellect and unmatched magical prowess, all wrapped together in the makeup of a tiny, unassuming girl who sang about sweets.

His fingers itched for battle. He'd never challenged her to a duel, had he? She'd be quite the challenge. Perhaps it was time he propositioned her with a match?

"Annette," Mercedes gently encouraged her from the front row. "It's alright."

She glanced over her shoulder at Mercedes, her complexion whiter than the sheet of paper she gripped in her hands. Her freckles were like flecks of embers. "Yeah, how bad could it be?" she laughed nervously.

He rested his chin on his hands and tried his best to ignore the idiot beside him. Sylvain was currently wracked in the throes of despair, his leg bouncing up and down and jostling against his. "Come on already," he was muttering to himself. "Let's get this over with."

"Don't pretend there's any hope. You failed. So shut up," Felix snapped at him. He'd seen duller blades cut cleaner than his wit.

Ashe's jaw practically snapped off and fell to his desk. Ingrid whipped around to shoot him a disapproving scowl while Dedue watched the scene unfold with disinterest. In contrast, his lord, Dimitri, grimaced and pinched the bridge of his nose. Mercedes gracefully swiveled around in her seat to press a delicate hand to her mouth. With a giggle, she said, "Oh dear," like she was trying hard to stifle a bout of laughter.

Sylvain just gaped at him in disbelief, unable to come up with a rebuttal. It's not like anyone could accuse him of being especially bitter toward him in particular- Felix was always rude to people.

Professor Byleth levelled him with an unamused glance.

And Annette -

A toothy grin stole over her countenance and relief softened the stiff muscles in her back. She handed back her exam to her professor, almost reverently. "Thank you, Professor Byleth!"

"Don't thank me, Annette. This was all you. Congratulations on achieving this year's highest score in the academy." Annette froze, her body going taut as if her legs had been cursed to meld with the floor. Professor Byleth clapped an appraising hand on her shoulder. "You did well." Felix barely reigned in a smile before anyone noticed.

"Annette, that's amazing! I knew you could do it," Mercedes exclaimed excitedly. Ingrid and the rest of the class all added their own praises. The warlock practically glowed with joy. He couldn't look away.

"I'm pleased to announce that the Blue Lions have all proved their merit this year. That said, don't settle for mediocrity. Simple oversights may cost you your life on the battlefield," Professor Byleth continued, glancing at Sylvain with her last comment.

The paladin bolted up-right in his seat. "I passed?"

Felix rolled his eyes.

When Annette started back to her seat, her glassy gaze roved over the class. Her movements were wooden, like she was still processing what she'd heard. Until their gazes met. Her eyes rounded with clarity.

Something seized his heart, tripping his pulse and screwing up its steady rhythm. Heat scorched his face so intensely he feared everyone could see the redness spreading over his skin. He should look away, he was staring - he was, wasn't he? Did anyone notice? Wait, why was she staring back?

Annette, unaware of the mental shutdown he was undergoing, tilted her head at him inquisitively. He'd seen her do that before in the greenhouse. Right when she was about to sing. The lyrics bubbled at the edge of his tongue.

She raised an eyebrow at him, waiting, it seemed. He panicked. Cakes and steaks, this was madness.

Felix cast his gaze about the classroom, suddenly all too interested in the exact number of empty seats there were available. How come the Blue Lions held so few in its roster?

Awkwardly, he glanced back at Annette. She settled down next to Mercedes. Without the weight of her gaze, he felt as though he could catch a breath. That had been...agonizing. The warlock leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Mercedes, utter joy shining in her eyes. Mercedes rubbed soothing circles into her back and the girl wilted. Bruised shadows stained the soft skin beneath her eyes. Her complexion had a papery quality to it.

Rest, he thought to himself. You've earned it.

Ingrid got up from her seat at Professor Byleth's summons. Her stool's wooden legs scraped against the tiles, breaking him out of his reverie.

Felix scratched the back of his neck and frowned. He glanced to his right and found Sylvain peering at him with a downright smug look on his stupid face.

Panic gripped him once again. "What?" he grumbled. Instinctively, he grabbed the velvet bundle as if to protect it from Sylvain's prying nature.

The red-haired playboy waggled his eyebrows suggestively, all his wounded pride gone at this...well, whatever conclusion was he'd come to. "Nothing," he said, his grin growing wider. "But I should've guessed. You, my mean, grumpy old friend, always had a soft spot for cute things. You always snuck out to feet the strays and make sure they were sheltered in the rain."

Felix glowered at him, unsure where he was going with this. That smug grin of his was revolting. He didn't like feeling blindsided.

Sylvain deliberately angled his chin in Annette's direction. "Maybe give up a day of training and try out a different battlefield."

He'd mentioned a different kind of battlefield before. But Sylvain was a moron. All he could think about was girls. Felix didn't care about anything other than training and getting stronger. Strong enough to best his professor, strong enough to protect those he cared about.

Felix shouldn't have looked. He didn't know why, only that if he did, he knew he'd only confirm whatever it was that Sylvain already knew.

Temptation won. His gaze slid to Annette for a brief second. She noticed. Felix went rigid, hyper aware of how Sylvain was gloating beside him. Enjoying every tortuous second of his discomfort.

"Now, wait for it…"

"Wait for what?" Felix growled.

"For the best part," he answered with a sickening cadence of self-importance.

Felix didn't get a chance to retort, because Annette looked back at him again. This time however, she sat up and stared directly at him. What's more, she smiled at him.

Ingrid plopped onto her seat in the row ahead of them with a defeated sigh, but it was all background noise at this rate. He swatched Annette, dumbfounded and vulnerable For some godforsaken reason, memories of her in the greenhouse teased him. The feel of her hand as she'd pulled them into the cover of the bushes. The sweet cookie-dough scent in her hair tickling his cheek. Her breath, billowing hot on his mouth -

He speared his bottom lip with his teeth and quickly looked away. Iron flooded his senses, making everything seem much more vivid. He wanted to smile back at her, to congratulate her for her victory - personally. Something of the sort.

"Ouch, cold as ever," Sylvain said dramatically.

"Fuck you," Felix retorted.

"Felix!" Ingrid gasped, her eyes lit with rage.

"Many ladies do," Sylvain replied happily, earning a viscous look from her.

"You two are such babies," she told them, jabbing a finger at them for emphasis. She tossed her straw-yellow hair over her shoulder and huffed.

Sylvain smirked and his voice dipped low. "Only say the word and I can give you all the babies you -

Her rage ignited into a storm. In a flash, Ingrid was out of her seat and yanking on both of Sylvain's ears. "Say the word and I'll make you impotent." She stamped a foot on the ground for emphasis.

He flinched, crying out, "Okay, I got it, stop it already! Ouch, you're gonna rip them off! What the hell?"

"When have you ever wanted to listen?" she asked, a wicked glint in her eyes. She pulled on his ears again, and beamed as Sylvain protested.

Ashe looked on in horror, his gaze pinned on Sylvain's ears as though it was the last time he'd see them attached to the buffoon's head.

Sylvain just couldn't keep his mouth shut, though, and as he attempted to pry her off of him, said, "I had no idea you enjoyed being the dominant one. Makes sense, being a pegasus rider - OUCH!" he yowled as Ingrid twisted his earlobes until they resembled mashed balls of dough.

Professor Byleth released a long-suffering sigh from her place at the podium. Her steps were swift and her dealings more so. With one hand she grabbed Ingrid by the collar and pulled her off of Sylvain as deftly as she would flick a dustbunny off her shoulder. "That's enough, you two," she chided them. Sylvain gingerly touched his ears, a pout on his face. "After I finished complimenting you all. Ingrid sit down, I think you've tortured him enough."

Sylvain stuck his tongue out at Ingrid and Professor Byleth rounded on him. "As for you," she started, and the young paladin nervously folded in on himself. "I don't want to have to intervene again," her words were thin as ice over a frozen lake, conveying much more than the rest of the class could ever know.

He had one chance to step across that ice and if he fucked it up, he'd send himself careening through the sheet.

Felix and Annette glanced at each other, sharing in this little secret about Sylvain's greenhouse dalliance.

"But teach, she started it!" he protested, crashing through that ice and effectively shattering any chance he had.

Professor Byleth crossed her arms and said, "My office, this lunch period."

Annette and Mercedes were out of the classroom the second lunch began. He didn't know how to catch her alone so he held onto the velvet-wrapped doll. Felix followed them into the lunchroom.

His plan had been to somehow sneak the doll to her while they were in line grabbing their trays of food. Somehow, Ashe caught up to them first and he had no choice but to think up another plan.

When they all sat down, Felix moved to sit right beside them - but a swarm of girls flocked toward Annette like bees to honey pots.

He'd never had a problem dining with others - he'd never paid anyone much attention, unless his professor invited him. Then he'd have to act all cordial and crap. Now he felt transparent as a plane of glass. Unease spider-walked along his spine and he itched to hide the velvet bundle under the table.

He shovelled his food into his mouth, trying to hurry up and escape the suffocating room. The mashed potatoes were mush in mouth, tasteless on his tongue.

"I know, I can't wait!" one of the girls beside Annette was saying, clasping her hands together excitedly. He didn't recognize her, but then again he didn't really take notice of anyone unless their skills stood out among the crowd.

Mercedes nodded and took a sip of her drink. "We're all going to help each other with our makeup. Annette's really good at it," she told her after she'd set her glass down on the polished wooden tabletop.

"Wow," Ashe exclaimed. "You know how to do so many things, Annette. It's really impressive."

Annette's smile belied her bashful words. "Nah, not really. I just like makeup is all. Besides, I think it's kind of expected for girls to know all the different ways to mix colors."

"Cooking is the closest I can get to understanding something like that, but even then I can't entirely grasp the more nuanced parts. Dedue's dishes are unlike anything I've ever had, though."

Mercedes tilted her head with surprise. "I can't say I've ever tried his own recipes. Or Duscur food at all, for that matter. I'll have to ask him sometime."

Ashe nodded. "You should. Unfortunately a lot of people don't even give him a chance before they get to know him. There's a lot we could all learn from each other."

"I agree," Annette said thoughtfully. "We brush everything under the rug, so to speak, when it comes to heavy topics like what happened to his people. Especially having seen how some people treat him the way they do," she ground her teeth together, her knuckles bleeding white around her utensil. A few of the girls glanced down guiltily at their plates. Even Felix had to pause for a moment. Sure, he absolutely fucking hated Dimitri and his sorry ass...but he'd been rude and inconsiderate to Dedue, calling him the boar's dog and shit…

Fuck, what was wrong with him?

With a sigh, Annette shook her head as if to clear away the frustration eating at her. "Anyhow, do you think Dedue could find a cure for me?"

"C-cure?" Ashe sputtered around a forkful of sirloin steak.

"My explosion curse," she clarified for him and Ashe deflated in relief. Nothing to do with phantoms, thank Seiros, his face practically read. "I follow the instructions to a T but the next thing I know - BOOM!" she jumped out of her seat for emphasis, startling many of the people around her.

Felix snorted, unable to stop a grin from tugging at his lips.

Ashe considered her conundrum. "I could always ask him for you. But if you ever need help I can tag along next time it's your turn to cook. I think it'd be easier to see exactly what you're doing to trigger these explosions."

Sound idea, Felix found himself agreeing with Ashe. But his mood soured much like the once-tasteless mashed potatoes in his mouth when Annette reached across the table to grab Ashe's hands. "Really? That'd be so helpful! I'd love it if you could!"

Ashe sheepishly glanced down at his plate.

Felix had the inexplicable urge to swat their hands apart.

Thank the gods, one of the girls unwittingly prevented him from acting on said urge. "Can you do my makeup, please?" she begged Annette, grabbing her upper arm. "I know just who I want to ask."

"Already?" Annette asked, dropping Ashe's hands as she turned to engage the other girl.

"Of course," she blushed. "I'm not going to go with just anyone."

Ashe asked Annette, "Do you have someone in mind?"

What on earth were they talking about? Felix drummed his fingers impatiently on the tabletop, glaring daggers into all of them. Mercedes looked over at the sound and said, "Felix? What's wrong?"

"Nothing," he said, because he didn't know why he was so pissed off. Only that he was. "What're you talking about?"

Annette gasped, as if he should've known about this, and said, "What else? The ball!" Felix's fork scraped against his plate with a high-pitched squeal. No. No, no, no. Not this goddamn waste of time. He opened his mouth to say as much when she asked him, "Who are you going to ask?"

Obviously no one, he wanted to say. Instead, he gripped his fork like it was a shield.

Seeing as he wasn't going to respond any time soon, Ashe said, "I was shocked to hear it was already time too. Professor Byleth should mention it soon, though. There's a lot of stuff to prepare for."

Felix nodded mutely at him in gratitude for sparing him from having to answer her.

But then he said, "I can't wait. I've been wanting to ask someone to the ball since I heard about it."

Felix glanced at Annette. She positively trembled with excitement. "Same! I already picked out my dress and everything!"

"Really? That's smart, thinking ahead like that. Then again, you've always been brilliant. Hmm, I haven't a clue what I should wear. Now you have me extra curious: who is it?" Ashe asked her.

Before she could even reply, one of the girls said, "Oh, it has to be Prince Dimitri. Everyone wants to go with him."

"I mean he is gorgeous," another girl said.

A guy further down the table grumbled, "Yeah I'm sure it's got nothing to do with his shiny little crest." The girl nearest to him balked at his statement and they immediately proceeded to dissolve into a heated argument.

Annette softly smiled to herself. "I was hoping he might ask me himself, actually."

Dimitri? Him and Annette? Dancing together and laughing together and then meeting up at the Goddess Tower to - Felix wanted the earth to swallow him up and spit him out onto a bloody battlefield.

"Wait, you're going for him too?" a girl asked Annette, a note of dismay slipping into her voice.

"What? No, don't be silly!" she laughed. "He's like my older - I mean, I'm not interested in him romantically," she waved away the suggestion.

"Oh, well that's good," the girl said.

Ashe pursed his lips. "Then who is it?"

Why does he care? It wasn't like Felix didn't want to know, but still. He wasn't planning on going anyway. A stupid ball only distracted everyone from what was important: training.

"It's a secret," she said, reaching for her drink.

Felix's appetite disappeared. He got up from the table and went straight to his room, unable to think straight. All he could see was Ashe and Annette together, or Sylvain and Annette, or someone he didn't even know. It bothered him.

It shouldn't.

He cursed at the velvet bundle in his hand. "You're still here, huh?" Great, just fucking great.


	5. Chapter 5

Felix didn't want to attend some stupid Ball. Really, he didn't. Why bother wasting time with stupid girls and stupid guys when you could be busy training? Isn't that why they were at this academy in the first place?

Irregardless of his feelings on the matter, it appeared as if preparations for the Ball was in full swing. And it was mandatory for all students to attend.

Professor Byleth had invited Dorothea from the Black Eagles House to join the Blue Lions House. After she had accepted, their professor had immediately nominated her for the dancing competition. To his surprise, the girl was a natural. He'd heard her talk about her days as a performer with Professor Manuela but he had brushed it aside as something trivial. Clearly he'd misjudged Dorothea's skills. Yet her victory in the competition only drove home how close the Ball was, irritating him the more.

Seiros help him.

Apparently the goddess wanted him to suffer, because he still had another problem to contend with. Swaddled in violet velvet atop his desk was the doll Annette had lost in the greenhouse. How it had gotten itself gripped between the spindly fingers of a towering tree was still a mystery to him. He absolutely refused to believe ghosties - no, _ghosts _\- had been involved. The least he could do was to investigate the area. It was his turn at the greenhouse today, anyway.

With a sigh, Felix carefully unwrapped the soft bundle of velvet, revealing a charming little redhead doll. "Looks just like her," he mumbled fondly, running the pad of his thumb through its yarn spun hair. "But hers is more orange." He paused, glaring down at the doll as if it had offended him somehow. If only the yarn had been a touch more yellow, it'd be a striking resemblance to the little warlock.

"Yellow, huh? Like that damned boar's greasy noodle hair." Annette had said she hoped someone specific would ask her to the Ball. Naturally, everyone's first thoughts for a partner seemed to be Prince Dimitri. He'd never have thought she might fancy the brute but considering how every breathing woman alive swooned in his presence, he couldn't dismiss the possibility. But she'd insisted she wasn't interested -

"What the hell is wrong with me?" Felix scoffed aloud. He tried in vain to push away visions of her dancing with the boar out of his head. The doll's vibrant red hair burned his retinas, taunting him to impress it with yellow to create the perfect shade of orange. What else made orange? White could, right? And then he thought of Ashe, with his shocking head of silver hair. How well he and Annette got along, how similar their interests and manners and fears were.

Felix didn't dislike Ashe. Hell, he'd rather she danced her heart away with him than with Dimitri. So why was it bothering him so much? Why would the two of them going to the Ball together be an issue? Felix was dead set on sneaking away to train when Professor Byleth wasn't looking. He didn't care about pointless things like this.

Frazzled, Felix busied himself with caring for the doll. Ensuring its material was good as new, clean and without mold, he gently folded the velvet wrapping around it. His ministrations worked to smooth a veil of calm over his fried nerves. When at last he tucked in the remaining portion of velvet into the rest of its folds, he held the bundle between his hands and considered it.

A knock sounded on his door. Was it his professor dropping by to see if he'd lost anything? Honestly, how she managed to collect so many items was a testament to everyone's absent-mindedness. Maybe he should invite her for training after his chores were done, if only to stop thinking about Annette twirling and spinning around with Ashe. He gently set the doll atop his desk and moved his neck from side to side, relishing at the pop of his joints as the muscles loosened.

Within two strides, Felix was at his door, opening it for his guest. "What's up, prof…" the words died on his tongue at the shock of orange braids below him. A pair of orange braids attached to the head of a warlock he'd just been thinking about. His fingers constricted around the door knob, his knuckles bleeding white. "Annette?" he managed to choke out her name, his vocal chords wringing with alarm.

_Steaks and cakes what is wrong with me?_

The little warlock looked up at him with her doe eyes and glanced behind him. "Oh, uh, come in," he told her, stepping out of her way. His mind was blank. Unsure how to proceed, Felix pushed his door closed and took a second to gather himself. It didn't seem to work.

He moved stiffly, his heart thudding so fast its erratic pulse must have done something odd to the rest of him. Felix only felt adrenaline rushes like this when his opponents were mighty forces to contend against. Ah, that must be it! Her magic must be radiating off her person, challenging his very being into battle.

Feeling more at ease with this rational conclusion, Felix stood before her with one hand on his hip. Waiting for her to ask him to fight each other. Yes, she'd make for a formidable foe, he thought.

But when Annette primly folded her hands before her and timidly glanced up at him, he started to wonder if he'd miscalculated her intent. Maybe she was just nervous to ask him to train together? She needn't be. The girl was a ferocious beast.

"Hello, Felix," she began politely, her eyes shining in the midday light. Wow, he thought. It was like looking into a clear pool of water. He'd never seen a blue so rich. He had to pity every opponent she'd ever faced. Surely they'd taken one look at her and thought she was nothing to fear. After all, she was tiny and optimistic and reluctant to hurt others. Not to mention irresistibly adorable.

Wait, no. What? Felix's nose scrunched as if he'd caught a whiff of something foul. Annette hesitated, watching him warily. He cleared his throat and offered her a composed but welcoming grin. Right, she had business with him. Had she rehearsed her battle invitation? A thrill danced along the back of his neck. Anticipation swelled in his chest.

She began again, almost dubiously. "So, uh, it was your turn to clean the greenhouse, right?"

"Yes," he replied, searching her face for any hint of a proposition to cross swords - or rather, magic against steel. He brightened visibly, tossing the strands of hair that fell into his eyes aside. Actually, he wouldn't mind seeing how well she could handle a blade. Yes, she had the potential. No, a lance might be better suited for her slight build. His mind raced at a cavalry's gallop, wondering what she'd choose to attack him with. "A pegasus rider, huh?" he mumbled to himself, appraising the vision of her flying at her enemies, ripping them in two with one sweep of her lance, the sun glinting off the metal and the spray of blood as it arced into the air. Better yet, she could launch fireballs and thunderbolts at one guy and stab another at the same time. A truly horrific sight. A grin tugged his lips up.

"Felix? Hello?" She said, jolting him back to the present. He blinked, shifting his weight to his other side. Seeing as she had his full attention, Annette's gaze faltered for a split second before she smiled up at him. "Well, I went ahead and took care of it. I also cleaned up the greenhouse."

Huh, that wasn't where I thought this was going, Felix thought. With a perplexed frown, he tried to read the answer on her face. But the girl simply beamed shyly at him, her gaze steady and suspiciously hopeful. "Why?" he asked her.

To his surprise, a vivid blush spread over her cheeks. "I just wanted to...help you out. So that…" She broke off, floundering. With a frustrated huff she said, "Okay, fine! I'm bribing you. So you'll forget!"

"Forget what?" He had absolutely no idea what could bother her so much to resort to bribery.

"Are you really gonna make me say it? Before! In the greenhouse. I want you to forget what you saw and heard."

For some reason, he immediately thought back to the night he had gone to save her from the ghosties. They'd had to witness Sylvain and his date, an excruciating experience to say the least. Yet as he recalled those events, so too did a host of other things. The sugary smell of Annette's hair, the warmth of her body against his as he'd pressed her into the tree -

He drew in a shaky breath, his gaze darting to her lips. Which were now twisted into a pout. When he didn't respond, her mouth curled into a smile as she continued, snapping him out of whatever trance he'd been in. "If you agree to forget about it, I'll take your shift in the stables. Do we have a deal?"

Ah, of course. Felix almost snorted as the realization dawned upon him. They'd had fun hiding away from Sylvain that night - or at least it seemed like they had. Despite her fear of ghosts coming to catch her and the awkward little rendezvous they'd had to see, they had gotten along well. She'd even made small talk with him on the way up to the dorms. No, this was about something else.

And he couldn't agree with her demands. Not when her song was so catchy. "No thanks," he said.

Annette clearly had expected a different outcome. "No?! But that's not okay! You have to forget about it. Right this moment!"

With a shrug, he said the only thing he could. The honest truth. "I can't. It's permanently etched into my memory." Although said memory may be a tad faulty, he thought. He'd fudged those lyrics up for sure. "A mountain of sweets, as well as steaks and cakes. Stacks of them, apparently." he mused, thinking back to her little jig for the plants. "I'm also intrigued by those bears and swamp beastie songs you mentioned."

The tangent had begun. He'd been thinking about this for far too long and now he could finally ask her about his questions. As Felix softly smiled to himself at the memories of her dancing, smoothing out his hair as he did so, Annette started to quake with murderous rage.

But Felix was too absorbed in the enchanting spells she'd woven. It had to be magic, right? Either in her voice or her footwork - footwork! Excitedly, the swordsman looked directly at her. "Ah, and I've been meaning to ask about the move that went along with 'crumbs and yums.' Was that fencing footwork?" Yes, they could battle together anytime. But this! This was paramount.

Ashe had praised her for being well-rounded and now he was seeing her touch in everything. On top of her excellent grades, the warlock was well-versed in the most surprising and unexpected of topics. Perhaps she could take a look at his own fencing and offer pointers?

Unfortunately, when Felix noticed the sheer horror and anger in her expression, it was too late. "Stop it, Felix! You're a villain!"

"Hm?" he was stunned. He very rarely complimented anyone for anything. Yet here Annette was, acting as though he'd gone and done something unforgivable.

Annette waved her arms about like she was about to lob a fire spell at his face. Thank Seiros she didn't. Instead, she gesticulated as she ranted. "You think you're so funny? Keeping a straight face while _mocking _my singing and dancing?"

Mocking? Felix blinked several times, suddenly very much at a loss. He took a step toward her to try and explain but a fiery tempest had consumed her. "Well, now you have to forget about it. Please! What if I make you a nice steak dinner? You like steak, don't you, Felix?" Her voice rose with desperation and she closed the distance between them, searching for anything she could use to tempt him into erasing his own memory. An impossible feat, really. "It will be _yummy!_" she insisted, her last word taking on a sing-song quality.

A crease formed between his brows. Seiros above he could already hear her song again just from that little stress on that word. She had a lovely voice. Clear as - clear as...Annette grabbed his hands in her small ones, trying to entice him to agree. Strangely, the feel of her skin blazed through him from his hands to his toes. The hair on the back of his neck prickled.

She tugged him with her toward his door, prattling on about how amazing her steak was going to be. He thought of a possible explosion happening, since she said she had a knack for creating them in the process of cooking. But then he remembered that steaks went with cakes in her songs and then he realized she'd nearly seduced him into complacency. She misunderstood him if she believed he was making fun of her.

Felix refused to budge and Annette looked over her shoulder at him, confused. "This isn't about steak. I just -

"Fine! Be stubborn. Tell the whole world for all I care! I'll just learn to live with the funny looks I'll get from everyone. They'll all say, 'There goes that Annette, the girl with the funny ideas about food!' You're the evilest of villains, Felix! I'll hate you forever and ever!"

With that, Annette let go of him and raced out of his room with the most terrifying face he'd seen her make yet. But all he could think was he'd upset her and he didn't know why or how he'd gone wrong.

His chest ached and his mind swirled with confusion. "Huh. I was just trying to be nice. 'Funny ideas about food.' Even the bullies in her head are ridiculous." He released a defeated sigh, staring at his open door through which she'd fled. "I really don't understand that girl."

As he was wracking his brain for some kind of answer, someone slipped into his room and closed the door. Felix startled, stunned that he'd been so lax in his own room. His hand instinctively dropped to the sword strapped to his hip.

"Really would prefer it if you didn't chop me into pieces, thanks," Sylvain's voice rumbled. The guy leaned against the back of his door with his arms folded across his chest.

"What do you want?" he grumbled, contemplating unsheathing his weapon to shoo him away.

Sylvain shrugged, his hair falling into his eyes. "Oh, nothing."

"Then go make yourself useful. I have greenhouse today," Felix said, making his way over to him.

"Annette took care of that," the skirt-chaser practically purred, his eyes narrowing in delight as Felix's own widened. "Poor girl was yelling her head off. Even Ashe was worried. But I know you're not the type to pounce on a girl. Maybe threaten them with a sword, sure. If only you were keen on another kind of sword you might get a different kind of yelling."

Felix glared at him as if he could stake him through the stomach with one look. "Can you please lay off? You really have no self-control, do you?"

"I have plenty," Sylvain proudly declared.

He did not have the time for this crap. Felix said, "Out."

"My man, I'm only trying to help you. You really have no clue how to talk to girls, do you? Oh, boy," he smirked, pushing off from the door after catching something in Felix's gaze. "Don't tell me you've never been in love with someone before?"

Felix felt as if he'd been dealt a blow he couldn't parry in time. "What?" he guffawed. "Look, I'm not interested in chasing girls everywhere I go. I have actual goals here."

"You wound me," Sylvain feigned a bruised ego, but his eyes glittered deviously. "Listen, all I'm saying is this Ball is more important than you may think. It's not some waste of time. It's a chance to finally spend some quality time with that special someone." When Felix stared blankly back at him, not understanding what he was getting at, Sylvain clapped his hands on his shoulders. "The Goddess Tower is the perfect opportunity. I'll even let you know when I've finished my confessions - I mean _one _confession there." He backpedaled, trying to goad Felix.

"That's nothing but a stupid story," Felix snapped.

"Yeah but it's tradition now. Girls eat it up. Trust me," he winked.

Felix reached up and flicked him hard on the temple, sending the dolt careening backwards with a pained shout. "I said get out."

"I would be pretty pissed at you if you weren't so hopeless," Sylvain told him, rubbing his forehead where he'd been attacked. "Well, whenever the love bug bites you can always come to me to hear how to treat it. Though I'll bet you'll act like nothing's wrong and fumble your way into more trouble. Poor Annette," he said dramatically. "At least she has no shortage of admirers waiting to ask her. But maybe you like fighting off other rivals."

"Fight? Who?" Felix asked, suddenly very interested. "Anyone strong?"

At that, Sylvain thumped a hand against his chest. "Very. You'll need to have nerves of steel to contend with them. Not actual steel, mind you. Please don't cut down the other students. Well, I'll be waiting to see how you handle it all. Best of luck, oh hopeless one."

And so Sylvain hummed a little tune, something so similar to Annette's own song that it riveted Felix to the spot. Then his bedroom door closed behind the playboy, and he was left standing there in the middle of his room, unable to make sense of anything that had happened today.

"What is wrong with everyone here?" he groaned, shaking his head.

When he turned around, he spied the velvet bundle atop his desk. Annette's doll. Her face rose to the forefront of his mind, the little grin of hers softening her features into something altogether lovely. A peculiar sensation squeezed his heart. It was a stab of pain, but it was sweet in its precision. He pressed his fingers against the fabric over his heart and frowned, perplexed.

* * *

**AN: Thanks as always for your support, reviews and patience. Finals week is about to swoop down and kill me haha so I've been preparing for the end. A lot of stuff has been going on but I can't wait to finish this story!**


	6. Chapter 6

Deep down in the snuggly part of Felix's heart bloomed an awareness. It was a tiny little bud, a soft petal contrast to his ambitious nettles. Here, his being swelled with adoration at the sight of stray cats in alleyways and short, studious girls with good fencing footwork and melodious voices. The swordmaster preferred to remain aloof about these blossoms, but when the Love Bug came nipping on the leafy stalks, he felt the beginnings of an allergic reaction similar to the one he'd witnessed his brother experience throughout his courtship to Ingrid.

It was mind boggling: Felix wasn't involved with anyone. Not unless he counted the scores of enemies on his battlefield, that is. Just the same, the symptoms began to take their toll with rapid alacrity.

Classes came and went, the days blurring together amidst a backdrop of Annette's songs lulling him to sleep each night. The lyrics were clear as icicles in his dreams, no longer the muddled lilting of a singular voice echoing about his skull. Soon after, the words came into focus in the waking world, confirmed entirely upon a lucky stumble across the warlock once more in the midst of her chores.

"It has a charming tune to it. All of them, really," he found himself complimenting her newest ballad.

He truly didn't mean to chance across her path so often. Felix simply walked wherever he intended to go and suddenly a wild warlock was before him. Eyes widening in alarm, Annette crouched low to the floor, her hands cupped with fresh soil. Her every movement was graceful and quick as a feline. A contented feeling nearly succeeded in hooking the corners of his mouth up and into a smile, but he tugged the fish hook lines down until he was in control of his faculties. He didn't want to shoo her away again, he foolishly thought.

It didn't matter how sincerely he praised her or how many times he reassured her that he held no ulterior motives. She'd angrily stamp her foot on the cobblestones and rebuke him, cheeks ruddied with mortification and irrational fears of bullies spilling from her lips. Felix couldn't understand why she thought he was there only to mock her.

"Do you write them as they come to you?" he pressed her.

"You're gonna spread them around for everyone to laugh at, aren't you?" She clutched at her head as if an ache were pulsing through it.

"Why would I do something like that?"

Her gaze flit to his, suspiciously. "I'm onto you."

To Felix's astonishment, it set his heart into a frenetic gallop. The idea of her keeping an eye on him was invigorating as freshly smelted steel. But as always, Annette would leave him alone with the plants inside the greenhouse, a sugary scent trailing in her wake. The greenhouse lady would shake her head in disbelief, muttering about the hopelessness of youth.

The cycle continued, further perturbing Felix's addled mind. One moment, Annette was brimming with energy, effulgent as a dancing flame. At others, she would peter out into dim embers, flushed aglow with warmth when she approached him in class during group-work. Mercedes often chanced glances their way, leaving him to wonder why Annette left her with Ingrid.

"You and cats, I swear," Sylvain chuckled to himself, wagging his eyebrows at Felix as Annette headed his way. "If you're not trying to feed them all the time, they're flocking to you."

"What?" he deadpanned, right before a heavy tome slapped onto his wooden desk. Annette pinned her blue gaze down on him, almost as if trying to intimidate him with the intensity behind her stare. Heat pricked up his neck and he flicked his gaze down to the textbook's tattered cover. "I have mine with me today."

"He doesn't look loved," she countered breezily, nodding her chin at his spotless textbook. "Do you study? I mean, I know you get good grades, but do you use the poor, lonely book at all?"

Upon further inspection, Felix discovered that Annette's textbook was a testament to many sleepless nights. The cover was scratched and scuffed and the title along its spine was nearly illegible thanks to many creases. It looked like a bloated sandwich, the pages swollen from repeated thumbing. He'd seen her carefully handle each and every book in the library when they went together as a class, so he assumed she must use her textbook so frequently they tattered and split, rather than handle them much like a boorish brute might.

Sylvain snickered as Felix stared down at the wrecked tome.

"I have a good memory," he said as she continued to peer at him.

"You do," she replied, stunning him back into contemplative silence. The ginger-haired girl took the empty seat beside him, scooching the wooden legs over the tiles to sit closer. He fit his chin in his palm and watched her flip to the assigned page with nimble fingers. Her posture was perfect, her brow furrowed in concentration and her sleeves were rolled back for serious business. It was all so strangely endearing that he couldn't stop admiring her profile; the curl of her lashes tipped red in the soft sunlight spilling through the open doors, the wisp of hair on the crown of her head.

The young warlock was peerless. What could she learn from him that she didn't already know? He saw no advantage to partnering up with him when another gifted magic user sat beside her. Not to mention how close the two girls were. His first assumption was that Annette was trying to find a way to blackmail him into silence. Searching for a chink in his armor.

It dawned on him, albeit slowly, that he didn't mind what her aim was. Any chance to share a moment in her presence was enough. Sylvain's idiotic ranting swam to the forefront of his mind. Something about girls, as was always the case with him, and battlefields, which was more to Felix's liking. Ah, that's right, the daft skirt-chaser had said there would be rivals swooping in to claim Annette's hand for the ball.

Now _that _sounded exciting. A grand way to test his skills-

"Um, Felix?"

"Hm?" his gaze met hers over the textbook she had slid between them, her pointer finger acting as a placeholder.

"You're staring at me."

He blinked. "I'm listening to the question."

"Well, you're distracting me! Here, your turn." She pushed her well-loved book over to him, tapping at the place she'd stopped at.

Felix leaned forward, a lock of his black hair sliding out of his normally pristine, slicked-back bun. He paused, feeling the weight of a heavy stare boring through him.

"Y-your hair," she grumbled, reaching out to brush it back behind his ear. Her skin was like a branding iron, but oddly enough, it wasn't unpleasant. Annette sucked in a breath, jerking her arm back into her lap, and slid the book back over to her spot to read for him instead. A soft hue of pink dusted her cheeks. She spoke evenly and succinctly, as if calmed by the familiarity of a subject she loved. "...the velocity of such a speed will therefore render the opponent unable to parry in time. What then, should be the most efficient course of action to secure victory?"

He awkwardly did his best to answer the prompt, uncomfortably all too aware of the ever-present blaze of heat scorching the shell of his ear. Shaking his head as if to clear his senses, he leaned closer to her shoulder to see the next question. A sweet, cake-batter scent tickled his nostrils. As he read aloud, his gaze caught sight of several small scribbles dotting the margins. Doodles of three-tiered cakes, pastries shining with glaze and sprinkles raining like confetti over them all.

He started, a strange flutter tickling his heart as she continued to answer each question. Each answer she gave him was precise and perfect. Sometimes he had to take a moment to let her strategies sink in for processing, wondering how she was able to devise such intricate plans in such little time. Then again, perhaps she had already studied this part. All the same, a swell of pride lit him up from within like a candle lighting the way through dark corridors.

"Impressive," he told her, an amused glint in his eyes. "You'd make for a terrifying strategist."

A grin stole over her countenance, only to be replaced with a sullen shadow of her joy. "Yeah? Maybe someday he'll think so, too."

He wanted to ask her what was wrong, and he started to, when Annette swiftly plastered on a smile and shook her head. Her ginger braids whacked him on the arm with her vigor and before he could stop himself, a small grin betrayed him. Annette's eyes rounded, the blue of her irises nearly swallowed by her pupils, before she hesitantly smiled back.

And just like that, the infernal Love Bug sunk its fangs deep into petals, spreading its sweet, sweet poison. A flutter buoyed his heart up in the dingy of his ribcage, drowning his center of gravity and leaving him without anything to catch his fall. The stubborn strand of his hair slipped out of place again and he moved to tuck it back behind his ear when he caught sight of a boy from another class peering into his homeroom. His head was a dark mop that lay flat on his head, thick but unruly at the ends. He'd never seen him before. Or maybe he had, but Felix hadn't pinned him as anyone noteworthy to train against in the future.

Usually, he'd forget about a curious student like him. But the kid was gawking right at Annette, as if he was staring at Saint Seiros herself in all her holy glory. He couldn't be some long lost sibling of Ignatz's, that much was for sure. He doubted the guy would be willing to share his obsession for the Saint with anyone. Surrounded by a group of his friends, the boy continued to watch Annette, a determined scrawl of resolution on his face. His friends jostled him with their elbows, snickers rising like a cloud of gnats.

"Who's that?" she glanced over her shoulder to regard the crowd of boys.

It was like watching parchment catch flame: the boy blushed all the way down to his throat and offered her a tentative wave.

"I don't know," Felix said.

She waved back somewhat hesitantly, a strained smile jumpstarting a ticking muscle in her jaw.

That's when Felix spied the letter held between his stiff, white-knuckled fingers. Annette noticed it too, and she hiked her shoulders up to her chin with surprise. Spinning around in her seat, she grabbed one of her braids and trained her attention back on her textbook.

"Hey, um, let's do the next one."

Felix readily obliged her, keeping a cautious eye out for the boy who was steadily inching nearer. Annette's nostrils flared as he came into her periphery and suddenly, he understood just what was happening.

And he didn't like it.

Before he had time to think things through, Felix slowly rose from his chair and rolled his shoulders back to peer down at the kid clutching what he knew was undoubtedly a letter of invitation to the upcoming ball.

He didn't know what he meant to do and as the two boys stood there, staring at each other in confusion, the bell chimed.

"Ah! Thank you, Felix. Mercedes, let's grab some lunch," Annette shouted. Felix watched as the girl stuffed her things carefully into a satchel and looped one arm through Mercedes'. Fast as a streaming torrent, the two girls rushed past them.

When Felix turned back to look at the kid with the letter, he was gone. Unnerved, the swordmaster ground his teeth together.

Sylvain rose from his seat with a yawn. "She's done a good job of fending off some persistent insects before the ball was even announced, but now the rest are crawling out of the woodwork."

"Anyone strong?"

His childhood friend let loose a long-suffering sigh. "I'm starting to think you may only find happiness with weapons. All I'll say is maybe you should consider the ball more as a priority than some training you do every single day of the year. A heartbroken maiden is among the most sorrowful of-

Ashe craned his neck around Sylvain, and cut into what would have indubitably been a lengthy diatribe. "Heartbroken? I don't think she has to worry about not getting asked to the dance."

Felix felt a strange constriction in his chest. "Did you ask her?"

The archer scratched his cheek with a nervous laugh. "I'm pretty sure she said she had someone specific in mind once."

"See? Even Ashe knows the value in these events!" Sylvain said, wrapping an arm around the poor guy's neck to ruffle his hair.

"Um, is that supposed to be a compliment?"

"I don't understand how women eat up your bullshit," Felix snapped, annoyance spiking in his stomach.

As Sylvain clutched histrionically at his chest, the swordmaster blew out a puff of air, oddly relieved to hear that Ashe wasn't his rival-

His eyes narrowed to slits. _Rival? _Wait. Why should he care? It's not like he was trying to beat the other contenders in order to prove himself the best man for the ball, right?

"What's wrong with me?" he grumbled, gathering his things and setting off for the training arena.

* * *

Sleep evaded him, possible dreams floating above his consciousness like phantoms. He couldn't catch them, couldn't wrap himself in slumber.

With a disgruntled sigh, he crawled out of bed and slipped his boots on. With a candle in one hand, he began pacing about the dormitories, hoping sleep would catch up to him instead. But his mind was plagued with events of the semester, none of which pertained to his classes. He was here to learn how to become the best swordmaster he could be, not become distracted by some girl he couldn't get out of his head.

Felix drew to a halt at the line of sallow light spilling out from beneath the library's closed doors. He didn't even need to question who was up at this hour.

Pushing open one of the doors, he poked his head into the room and found Annette hunched over her books. He opened his mouth to tell her how late it was when the flame of the candles on her desk caught the streaks of tears spilling down her cheeks, glittering like amber rivers.

Two strides were all it took to get to her side. "Hey, what's wrong?" he asked, setting down his own candle to drape a his winter jacket over her narrow shoulders.

She cinched her eyes, turning away as if to hide her face. Her shoulders trembled like a leaf in the wind beneath his palms. Felix awkwardly sat down in the empty seat beside her, unable to think of what to say or do. He looked over her study materials, at all of the crumpled parchment littering the floor, the blotches of ink staining the tabletop.

"You study more than anyone I've ever met," he said. "Makes me wonder if I could do more."

There was a sniff, and Annette scrubbed at her eyes. "But you train more than anyone."

"Yeah, but I've yet to meet my match. Well, Professor Byleth is one but," he trailed off, unsure how he could even allude to his desire to spar against her.

"I doubt anyone could best our professor," she supplied, a hint of a smile in her voice. She sniffed again, causing Felix to hesitate, unsure if she should look over at her. Whether it might make her uncomfortable to be seen in a moment of vulnerability. As he was deliberating how he could help her, a sudden weight fell onto his shoulder.

Every muscle in his body locked up tighter than a treasure chest. "A-annette?"

She sighed, snuggling into his shoulder and pulling the jacket up around her chin. He dared a peek down at her and found himself captivated by her gaze as she stared up at him, tears shining in her eyes.

"I'll get over it. Always happens. Man, I wished you didn't have to see me like this," she said.

"I'm not going to laugh at you," he told her seriously, his voice cracking in his nervousness. "And I'm not going to mock your singing -

She cut in before he could start to ramble, "I know. I guess I was just really surprised to see you always coming in to listen to my singing and stuff. I thought a serious, tough guy like you would make fun of me for it." She laughed again, more warmly this time, and fell silent. "I was pretty rude to you. Sorry about that."

"You don't need to apologize," he murmured, unable to think about anything other than how he might stop the tears from leaking down her face. He watched as one fell from her ducts, shining yellow in the flames, and fell onto his lap.

"You're too nice to me," she said, her voice strained with emotion.

Felix's mouth felt dry, but he still forced himself to speak, knowing that right now, she needed someone to listen to her. Someone to comfort her, something he had wanted when his brother had died but no one was there to help him through it. "Well yeah. I like you - as a classmate."

She giggled, pulling away from him to dry her eyes. The absence of her body heat was stark, an ever-present conundrum.

"So, uh, do you need help with something?" He gestured at her open textbook.

"Oh, thanks but I got everything down."

He frowned, staring down at his hands on the desk. Felix felt frustratingly useless. "You study so much...almost too much. Are you sleeping enough?"

At that, the young warlock turned to face him, watching him intently. His pulse shot into a frenzy and he had the inexplicable urge to evade her searching gaze.

"You know, I thought it was kinda strange how you went out of your way to help me find some time to study for the exams. How you asked the professor to assign all my chores to you instead, how you helped me that night I got stuck in the greenhouse -

She cut off abruptly, staring straight at his chest. Felix didn't know why he thought of it, but for some reason he thought she was imagining how he'd pressed her up against the tree to keep them hidden in the dark.

"It's not like I was worried you were overstraining yourself or anything," he sputtered, hoping to Seiros that the flickering candlelight would somehow conceal the red blooming in his face.

Annette dissolved into giggles, her form curling into a tight ball. He was mesmerized, unable to look away. When she finally got a hold of herself, she shrugged at him and tilted her head to the side, an adorable toothy grin on her face.

Felix's eyes rounded.

"That's sweet," she whispered, running a hand over the jacket he'd draped over her. "Hey, can I tell you something?"

"Of course."

Her hand curled into a fist and a tiny little furrow dented between her brows. "Remember how I told you I had to study really hard to get into Garreg Mach?"

He nodded. She'd said something about it to him the day she learned he'd taken over all her chores, worried that Professor Byleth might find her lacking.

"So, uh, I honestly didn't think I had much of a chance to get into this academy at all. Studying was, and is, the only thing I'm good at."

"That's not true," he said softly, leaning closer to her. "Your footwork, your singing, your -

"Ah, that's okay you don't need to do that," she laughed uncomfortably, her brows drawing together. When he clamped his mouth shut, worried he'd done something to upset her, she deflated, casting off her mask of positivity and letting him see what lay beneath. "I came here for entirely selfish, impure reasons, Felix."

"I-impure?"

She nodded, heaving a deep sigh, oblivious to the swirling thoughts now eddying through Felix's mind. But what she said next stunned him speechless.

"My father abandoned me and my Mom after the Tragedy of Duscur. He never really told us why he was leaving, and I never got the chance to…" she swallowed, reaching up to dab at her eyes with her sleeves. Her voice warbled as she continued. "I thought I'd done something wrong. That he didn't love me anymore and so I did the only thing I could think of. I studied until I could barely keep myself awake, and I scored so high at the Royal School of Sorcery that they let me into Garreg Mach. I hate him for what he did, for how he just threw us away like we were nothing! But I thought maybe, just maybe, I could ask him why…but he keeps acting like I don't exist now that I finally found him."

Felix didn't think, he reached out and wrapped one arm around her, pulling the crying warlock into his side. "Gilbert, huh?" he asked as she sobbed into his shoulder. "I'm so sorry, Annette. You did nothing wrong. And I'm sure he's proud of you even if he doesn't acknowledge you. Anyone would be proud of their kids for joining this academy." He pressed his cheek onto the crown of her head, closing his eyes while he rubbed soothing circles into her back.

"What about your dad?" she croaked.

His fingers twitched. "He's a sack of shit."

She spluttered into laughter, tears dampening the material of his shirt. "Sounds like we've got that in common too."

"Oh? What else?" he asked, a smile in his tone.

Annette gasped, stiffening. "Um, well, you seem to like singing too."

His heart felt as if someone had thrown it high into the air and he didn't know how to stop himself from laughing like a fool next to her. "To be fair, I only like your songs."

"Huh? What's that mean?"

"Wait, forget I said anything!"

Annette pulled back just far enough to look into his face, a hint of mischief in her dimples. Dimples. She has dimples, he thought, staring.

"Which is your favorite?"

It took him a moment to realize what she was asking, and by the time Felix figured it out, he was already thinking of all the ways he might be able to keep the tears from ever spilling down her cheeks again.

"I've yet to hear them all," he said, watching as she practically glowed with delight.

"I have some more I've been writing, actually."

"Yeah?"

She nodded, shyly.

"Did you write anything about shit dads? I could definitely seal that in a letter to mine."

Annette cackled with surprised excitement. "Holy crap, you just made a joke. But no, I haven't. I will now though -

A yawn swallowed her words and she covered her mouth with a small hand.

He said, "Yeah, it's pretty late. Wouldn't want the ghosties to come out now, would we?"

She jumped out of her seat with a shriek, sending her chair to the floor with a clatter. "Felix, what are we gonna do?"

"Don't worry, they only go after people who study their heads off," he teased, unable to resist as the girl started to flit about the room, searching for possible hiding places in case a phantom decided to have some fun. "I'll walk you to your room, here." He held out his hand to her.

When she slid her hand into his, he could have sworn her thunder magic had sparked through his veins, sending him into a whirlwind of feeling. Suddenly bashful, Felix guided Annette back to her room, where she thanked him and apologized for everything.

"No need," he reassured her, a giddy but tired smile on his face. "Also, you're doing that thing again."

Her frown deepened, the skin between her brows forming another gully. "What thing?"

Felix reached out and smoothed the dent between her brows with the pad of his finger. Her eyes widened beneath his touch, heat in her skin. When he drew back, she blinked at him as if unsure what to say.

"Oh, um...we should study sometime," she finally said, her fingers curling around her door. "If you want to, that is."

Felix scratched at the back of his neck, confused by the turn of events, but secretly overjoyed. Why? He didn't particularly enjoy studying. "Sure. Let me know whenever."

Annette smiled at him softly, her gaze flicking to the floor. "Well, good night then."

"Night," he said.

* * *

**AN: Despite careful planning, I still ended up writing much more than I wanted to. But I'm pretty happy with this little cute story and I hope you guys are enjoying it too! Will be finished with it soon.**


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